Denitrification of groundwater using acetic acid as a carbon source

A pilot scale rotating biological contactor was used to investigate the ability to remove nitrate from groundwater using acetic acid as a carbon source under various operating conditions. The reactor achieved a nitrate removal efficiency of 99 to 83 percent at loading rates of 76 and 490 mg/m(2).hr respectively with a flow rate of 2.5 1/min at 20+/-2 degrees C. The nitrate removal rate was found to be dependent on the influent acetic acid loading rate. The optimum acetic acid to nitrate-nitrogen (A/N) ratio was found to be 4.3:1. Under optimum conditions the effluent nitrate, nitrite-nitrogen and residual acetic acid concentrations were 0.43, 0.03 and 4.4 mg/l. The process generally produced low nitrite intermediate production for up to 100 mg/l influent nitrate-nitrogen. The results of this study show that an anoxic RBC using acetic acid as a carbon source is a convenient and reliable process for the removal of nitrate from water supply. Pseudomonas were found to be the dominant bacterial species with species being Ps. strutzeri and Ps. fluorescence. (C) 1999 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.